Floor screen



July 13, 1943. R KAHR 2,324,398

FLOOR SCREEN Filed April 11, 1941 AWE ' Mim- INVENTOR. ia/ mp5 QAtW Patented July 13, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLOOR SCREEN Rudy Kahr, Hollywood; Calif;

Application April 11, 1941', Serial No. 3881071 1 Claim.

My invention relates to screens of that character adapted to be placed in upright position on a fiber for sheltering or screening an object or a person from the elements, such as fire and drafts.

It is a purpose of my invention to provide a screen of the type aforesaid which is characterized by its high degree of flexibility to permit of its assuming innumerable curved forms or configurations while in upright position, thereby lending thereto an artistic value unpossessed by the conventional foldable screen, and also lending thereto a new utility value in that it is variable as to shape and length so as to adequately screen objects of almost any contour or size.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide a screen which has the added advantage of being conformable to produce a complete circumferential enclosure, and by the provision of suitable fastening elements at its vertical edges to secure the screen in the form of a complete enclosure.

A further purpose of my invention is the provisionof a screen which is characterized by its complete collapsibility when not in use to the extent of being rolled on itself or folded into a compact form to facilitate handling, shipment and storage.

Another purpose of my invention is the provision of a screen which, while possessing the aforedescribed flexibility and collapsibility, is made in sections with separable fasteners between the sections, thereby permitting the overall length of the screen to be varied as desired or required to meet any particular screening condition.

I will describe only two forms of floor screens embodying my invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claim.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a view showing in perspective and in upright position on a floor, some form of screen embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the screen in an undulated form and in upright position on a floor.

Fig. 3 is a view showing in plan another form of screen embodying my invention.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing the fasteners on the meeting edges of the ends of the screen as in Figs. 1 and 2, or the meeting edges of the sections of the screen as in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4, with one of the slats moved to an angular position.

Referring first to the form of my invention shown in Fig. 1, the screen is illustrated as comprising a sheet l5 of canvas or any other suitable fabric or other material possessing the requisite degree of flexibility and elasticity necessary in the formation of my screen. To opposite sides and at opposite points along the length of the sheet i5, are secured a multiplicity of staves, slats or rails 16 which may be formed of light wood or any other material possessing the requisite lightness and strength to produce a screen which is both light and strong.

Each slat I6 is coextensive in length with the width of the sheet I5 so that its ends l6a terminate flush with the horizontal edges of the sheet. The inner face lfib of each slat is fiat, and it is to this inner face as well as to the companion surface area of the sheet that the adhesive is applied for securing the slat to the sheet. The outer face lilo of each slat may also be flat, but the longitudinal edges ifid'of' the slat are beveled for a purpose to be described hereinafter. As will be best seen from Fig. 5, the longitudinal edges of one slat at one side of the sheet are beveled oppositely from those of the companion slat at the other side of the sheet.

From the foregoing it will be clear that the several slats are secured to the sheet in pairs with the slats of each pair confronting each other, there being a sufiicient number of slats to substantially cover both sides of the sheet. As illustrated, the slats of any one pair are parallel to but slightly spaced from those of adjacent pairs in order that the intervening strips of the sheet I 5 may and do function to provide hinge connections between the pairs of slats. Thus, any one pair of slats may as a unit be moved transversely in either direction independently of adjacent pairs and thereby giving to the screen as a whole such flexibility as to permit it to assume any desired configuration and still stand in upright position on the floor so long as parts of the screen are sufiiciently spaced on the floor to give stability thereto. For example, as shown in Fig. 1, the screen may assume a circular form, while as shown in Fig. 2, it may assume an elongated and undulated configuration.

Thus it may be said that by reason of its flexibility and stability my screen may be caused to assume almost any configuration while standing in an upright position. The particular form which it assumes is, of course, dependent either upon what artistic effect is desired, or the size of the objects or persons it is required to screen. As in the instance of the form of screen in Fig. 1, it may provide an enclosure for a person changing costumes On a motion picture set. To convert the screen into an enclosure which is completely closed the free vertical edges of the sheet 5 may be joined by a conventional form of slide fastener.

As best shown in Fig. 4, the fastener strips [1 are secured to the exposed vertical edges of the sheet l5, and these strips can be joined by sliding a head I8 permanently attached to one of the strips, upwardly on both of the strips, thereby securing the endmost slats Hi to each other and completing the circular enclosure.

As previously stated herein, the sheet [5 is formed preferably of a fabric possessing flexibility and elasticity. Canvas, for example, so woven and positioned between the slats that it has a limited elastic stretch vertically, is suitable for the purpose. Manifestly, the flexibility of the fabric is utilized to provide the hinge connections between the slats, while the elasticity of the fabric vertically of the screen allows limited, vertical and relative movements of the slats. Thus when the screen is placed on a floor or other surface which is uneven or irregular, the slats can move vertically to conform to such irregularities and the screen still maintains its upright position.

While the fabric sheet l5 provides hinge connections between the several slats, and the hinge movement of any one slat with respect to an adjacent slat is suflcient to allow the screen to be bent into almost any conceivable configuration, yet by reason of the beveled edges I6d such hinge movement is limited. As shown in Fig. 5, the bevel of the edges lSd may be such as to limit the hinge movement to an angle of substantially 90 degrees, for by so doing the possibility is eliminated of the fabric being ruptured, torn or unduly stretched as a result of swinging the slat to a greater angle.

Referring now to Fig. 3, I have here shown another form of screen which is variable as to length to suit various screening requirements.

This is accomplished by constructing the screen in two or more sections, each designated at S. Each screen section S is identical in construction to the screen shown in Fig. 1, and the several sections are attached one to the other through the medium of the slidable fasteners with which as shown, each section is provided at its end vertical edges.

Manifestly, by adding or subtracting screen sections the overall length of the complete screen can be varied as desired, and when any two sections are joined by the slide fasteners, a unitary screen structure is formed possessing all of the structural and functional advantages of the screen shown in Fig. 1.

Although I have herein shown only two forms of screens embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim: 7

A floor screen, comprising; a body divided Vertically along its length into sections, each of said sections comprising a sheet of flexible material, and slats of equal length secured in pairs to said sheet, with the slats of each pair disposed at opposite sides and points along the length of said sheet, and coextensive in height therewith, the pairs of slats being spaced transversely along the length of said sheet so that intervening portions of the latter form hinge connections between adjacent pairs of slats; and separable slide fasteners between adjacent sections of said body, each fastener having strips secured to the vertical and confronting edges of adjacent sections, and a head on one of the strips for sliding movement to engage and join both of the strips to connect adjacent body sections along their vertical edges and provide hinge connections between the sections.

RUDY KAI-IR. 

